Louisiana isn’t the worst, but it can improve
The Deep South has long been the butt of many jokes, but Louisiana has just become the punchline of yet another. This comes as U.S. News ranked it as the worst state to live in. The ranking was derived using metrics such as opportunity, infrastructure and justice-related issues.
While the particular merits of this claim are debatable, the report does reveal an unfortunate truth: Louisiana needs improvement in many policy areas. With a little help, however, the Pelican State could easily rise in the rankings.
In terms of opportunity, Louisiana ranked dead last. These metrics considered economic opportunity and equality. While this ranking seems daunting to overcome, much can be done about it. For example, Louisiana requires onerous occupational licenses for numerous vocations. These licensing schemes often force applicants to clear expensive and time-consuming hurdles to obtain employment. Moreover, they prevent many from attempting to enter fields from the outset, especially the underprivileged who can’t afford the investment.
Licensing requirements also frequently fail to ensure the public receives a better product. Sometimes, the fact that a given occupation requires a license is downright bizarre. For instance, florists, auctioneers and interior designers must be licensed by the state just to go into business, which illustrates how unnecessary many occupational licensing regimes are.
Rather than enabling these barriers to employment, Louisiana should reform or repeal many of them. This step would provide more economic opportunity and shrink the inequality gap throughout the state.
With respect to infrastructure, Louisiana’s was ranked 44th worst in the country. However, a few well-defined changes could send the state’s energy infrastructure upward on the charts.
Like much of the nation, Louisiana has a government-enforced electric monopoly, which means that most consumers have the choice of only one electricity provider. Because of this, electric utility companies have no incentive to lower rates. Even worse, the monopoly model encourages companies to make risky business decisions, as consumers have little to no recourse if their rates rise.
The simplest way to address this problem is to end the monopoly system and permit private competition. As has been the case in other states, this measure will lower rates, lead to meaningful private investment in the power grid and result in more efficient energy production.
U.S. News’ rating of Louisiana as the 48th worst state on crime and corrections is perhaps the most concerning of the report’s findings. However, this ranking tells only half of a much more complicated story.
While it is true that the state recently had the highest incarceration rate in the world without a corresponding decrease in crime, Louisiana is also working diligently to become one of the nation’s leaders in criminal justice reform. Indeed, the Pelican State enacted no less than 10 different reform bills last year alone. And, as they take effect, they will help transform the state’s justice system by reducing the prison population, alleviating the financial burden on taxpayers and giving rehabilitated offenders a second chance.
This is certainly not to say that there isn’t more work that can be done in this arena. But fortunately, Louisiana’s is a forward trajectory — one that, although it will require patience and constant attention, will ultimately do much to ameliorate current problems.
In addition to the reforms already underway, Louisiana could further improve by reforming its bail system so that the poor aren’t kept behind bars for minor infractions simply because they can’t afford to post bond. The Legislature could also limit fees associated with expungement and consider a measure to parole the state’s aging prison population. These are just a few of the many additional proposals that could help Louisiana continue its efforts to improve its record on crime and corrections and establish itself as a leader in these fields overall.
Although much of the state Legislature’s attention has recently focused on Louisiana’s massive budgetary shortfall, legislators shouldn’t lose sight of these other issues. They are vital to Louisiana’s overall economic and social health, and they deserve closer examination if the state is to improve its ranking and ultimately get the last laugh.
